What does "Judas Priest" mean?

May 10, 1996

Dear Cecil:

What does "Judas Priest" mean? Besides being the name of a bitchin' heavy-metal band, it was something my grampa used to exclaim every time the hated Philadelphia Phillies scored a run against the Giants. Was gramps ahead of his time musically, or did the band rip him off?

— Tommy Touhey, Augusta, Georgia

Cecil replies:

The truly great cusswords span the generations, don't they? The answer to your question is none of the above. Gramps was just trying not to scandalize grandma. "Judas Priest" is a blasphemous-sounding but meaningless euphemism for "Jesus Christ."